This is How Broccoli Can Keep You Young

Broccoli can be an acquired taste. But even if it’s not your favorite vegetable, you may feel differently after learning that it has a natural anti-aging compound.

For every person that loves broccoli, it seems like there’s two others that detest it.

According to new research however, broccoli-bitter individuals may be making room on their plates for the maligned vegetable. The everyday-veggie everyone loves to hate has been found to contain a natural compound that packs an energy-related, anti-aging punch.

In the study, conducted by a team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, they discovered that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), which plays a vital role in energy metabolism, was also the key to slowing down the aging process. While the trials were conducted on mice, they’re hoping their findings “could be translated to humans”. The Benjamin-Button effect was induced when the enzyme was added to the mice’s’ drinking water.

The team’s findings were impressive: the rodents’ metabolism enjoyed a substantial boost, age-associated weight gain dropped, eyesight improved, as did blood sugar levels. While the researchers didn’t track how long the test mice survived, their findings still suggest the NMN-related boosts would improve longevity, too.

Pretty decent for a vegetable that’s been shunned by presidents and preschoolers alike. But, though we’d like to keep broccoli in the spotlight that it has waited so long for…that good/bad news is, that fountain-of-youth-like NMN enzyme can be found in other produce. Namely, cucumbers, cabbage, and edamame.

Additional research will be needed to see if the benefits of NMN really do translate to humans. In the meantime, it certainly wouldn’t hurt adding these veggies to your diet on a more regular basis – who knows, you might be rewarded for it when you’re older!